Synopsis

Emulsion is a Psychological Noir about a man looking for his missing wife set on the south coast of England. When ISABELLA mysteriously disappears from a car park her husband, RONNY, becomes obsessed with finding her. In an attempt to cling onto the memories of her he takes a job at the car park which Isabella vanished from. To find his wife becomes his purpose in life, his obsession.

We join the story a year after the Isabella’s disappearance. Ronny lives alone in a run-down apartment. He has a ritual which sees him watch the same film on a projector every night. This is a nostalgic reel of 16mm film; the last remaining memories of Isabella.

Every morning Ronny packs his bags in an attempt to move on with his life, but he dejectedly slams on his brakes as he approaches a picturesque bridge, the place he proposed to Isabella. This sentimental bond with the bridge denies his opportunity to leave the past at bay. Every day he returns to the car park to continue his quest.

Each night Ronny stands in the exact spot Isabella disappeared. He desperately tries to retrace his own movements and recap on any details that could aid his investigation. On the night of her disappearance Ronny recalls the moment they stop at the car park to have a rest before he surprised her with a visit to the bridge where he proposed. Isabella has been asleep through the journey, when she wakes up she is agitated and anxious. What was on her mind? Suddenly she remembers that it’s their anniversary and at the bridge asks Ronny to call a man called Pierre. Now Ronny is confused, who is he? Isabella uses her charm to put his mind at ease and tells Ronny “It’s a surprise.”

She tells him her mobile battery has died; Ronny decides to use a pay phone. Ronny tries to call Pierre but the pay phone doesn’t work. As he looks back at Isabella she is on her mobile phone, which she quickly hides as Ronny looks back. Ronny finds another phone on different level of the car park, but no luck, the number is engaged. When Ronny returns to his car, he finds the car door is wide open and Isabella is gone; just a red scarf on the floor.

Ronny replays the events in his mind every night, as stares into the CCTV monitors in the car park office, waiting and hoping. Once his shift is over he makes his frequent visit to the police station to ask about Isabella. The two police officers are fed up with Ronny’s prompt visits; no news is good news. Ronny feels uncomfortable as they begin to turn their attentions towards him; “Why are you always dressed like that?” Referring to Ronny’s retro clothes, why is Ronny dressed like someone out of the 60’s? Why does Ronny drive a 60’s car? Why is he stuck in that particular era?

Ronny finds companionship in his local café, where he can relax and the local café owner, Jeff, will listen to his troubles. This time Jeff tells Ronny about a mysterious man, who was wearing a long black coat and hat, asking about Ronny. Suddenly, Ronny feels uneasy; what did this man want? Ronny returns to work and suddenly sees this mysterious man the CCTV monitors hanging around the car park. Ronny gives chase, but the man evades him in a black car. Ronny looks though the CCTV footage but the number plate of the car is unclear.

One night a local call girl, AMY, is attacked in the car park and bundled into the boot of a black car. Ronny rewinds the CCTV footage and sees the mysterious man is behind this latest attack. Ronny gives chase again, but the car gets away.

Ronny returns home and suddenly out of the blue, the mystery man calls him and plays intense mind games with him. Ronny traces the call to a phone box. Ronny lays in wait and watches the phone box. This pays off as Ronny sees the man and follows him in his car. There is a small chase and Ronny loses him again. As Ronny continues to look for the man he comes across his abandoned black car parked in a foggy tunnel. Ronny approaches and breaks into the car and finds it empty, apart from a reel of film left on the back seat.

Ronny rushes home with the reel of film and laces up the projector. As Ronny avidly views the film he can’t believe his eyes; he discovers the truth about his wife’s disappearance that changes his life forever.